Sori Yanagi was a noted industrial designer in the post-war era. His works include everything from record players to bridges, and some of his furniture designs are part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The only vehicle Yanagi ever designed was the TR-series Orient-go, a three-wheeled truck built by Mitsui Seiki and introduced in 1956. The company still exists but stopped producing vehicles in 1963, and very few TRs remain. However, in 1958 a random photograph on Heiwabashi Street in Katsushika City captured one in its prime. Because of Yanagi’s stature the Orient-go is one of the few trucks that receive interest from not just automotive historians, but the design community as well. The number of surviving TRs probably number in the single digits today.
Dang, another industrial designer I did not know about, I will have to read about him for a couple evenings!
I knew about the Daihatsu and the Mazda 3-wheelers, plus some in Europe, like the Vespa, but this one is new to me, are there any others?
Cushman made similar 3 wheelers that were common transportation on industrial plants in the US.
I had the “pleasure” of driving a one while I was a scab worker at an oil refinery in NJ (that is another story). They were handy for transporting loads around the facility, but had a nasty habit of cornering on 2 wheels without a load.
Looks like the Mazda T1500 that delivered kerosene to our house in the mid 60’s.The Original T1100 cane out in 1959. The series went on to a T2000. Its smaller, Kei sized cousin, the K360 was introduced the same tear. I swear they wound up as TukTuks in Bangkok.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tLO0T1MNxeM